Duval County’s poor rankings weren’t unexpected. Last week, the state ranked the school district 50th out of Florida’s 67 school districts for student achievement.

“We recognize that the results of our lower-performing high schools needed to improve and have implemented strategies to improve both the FCAT scores as well as the newer grading criteria and are seeing positive progress,” Duval schools Superintendent Ed Pratt-Dannals said.

“Having two of our high schools in the top 12 is impressive,” Pratt-Dannals said. “Our expansion of the acceleration programs and career academies is designed to replicate the successes we are seeing at Stanton and Paxon”

He said Duval County has the most rigorous graduation requirements in the state. The percentage of graduates completing a college prep curriculum in the county’s public schools was about 83 percent in 2010 compared to the state at 60 percent.

Education Commissioner Gerard Robinson released a numerical ranking of Florida’s 3,078 public and charter schools, grouped by elementary, middle, high and combination schools. The ranking is based on each school’s total grade points, which are calculated using a state formula, and on Florida Comprehensive Assessment Test scores.

Other factors affecting the high school rankings included graduation rates, student participation and performance in accelerated coursework.

The district and school rankings, Robinson said, will make it easier to assess a school system’s performance.

“Having the data available in an easy-to-use format allows parents, educators, and business and community leaders to view the information and make decisions about how they can be involved in education decisions in their local communities,” he said.